Plea in Supreme Court to prevent creamy layer from availing benefits for SC/ST

In what could turn out to be a significant litigation in the coming months, certain persons belonging to Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe (SC/ST) communities have moved the Supreme Court seeking exclusion of the creamy layer from availing benefits accorded to SC/STs..The petition came up for hearing today a Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, which directed that a copy of the petition be served on the Central Agency within a week..Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the petitioner..In the petition drawn by advocate Shobit Tiwari and filed through advocate RC Kohli, the petitioners have contended that benefits of reservation and other government schemes accorded to SCs and STs are not percolating down to the people who are in actual need of the same, because the creamy layer in these communities are siphoning off the reservation benefits given to them by the State and Central governments..It is the petitioners’ contention that the uplifted/affluent and advanced sections of the SC/ST communities snatch away the maximum benefit. Further, 95 per cent of the members of these communities are in disadvantageous positions and are still without any benefit of reservation and Government Schemes..“Thus, the benefits of reservation policy are not percolating down to the people, who are in actual need of the same and the practice of including the members of the creamy layers of the said Communities has resulted in abuse by the advanced and affluent members of the said communities.”.The petition alludes to a catena of judgments rendered by the Supreme Court, starting with Justice VR Krishna Iyer’s judgment in State of Kerala & Ors. v. N. M. Thomas & Ors..“..the term Creamy layer was first coined by Hon’ble Justice Krishna Ayyer in the case of State of Kerala & Ors. Vs. N. M. Thomas & Ors 1976 (2) SCC 310, wherein His Lordship observed that benefit of reservation are snatched away by the top creamy layer of the ‘backward’ caste or class, thus keeping the weakest among the weak always weak and leaving the fortunate layers to consume the whole cake. .It is with this concept in mind and in light of the judgment given by this Hon’ble Court in Indira Sawhney Vs. Union of India 1992 (2) SCC Supp. (3) 217, M. Nagraj Vs. Union of India 2006 (8) SCC 212, Ashok Kumar Thakur 2008 (6) SCC 1, U.P. Power Corporation v. Rajesh Kumar 2012 (7) SCC 1, etc., the present Writ Petition is filed to submit that the real benefit of reservation in favour of SC/ST is usurped in middle by affluent and advance member of SC/ST.”.The petitioners have submitted that no class or caste has remained homogeneously backward through the course of time, and hence benefits of reservation should not be made available to the creamy layer of the SCs and STs..“Constitution of India does not provide enabling power with the Government to provide reservation to SCs/STs under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India. The Constitution permits extension of reservation benefit only to backward class. After almost 67 years of Independence, no class or caste has remained homogeneously backward across the time. So, only backward portion of castes included in the list of SCs/STs alone are constitutionally entitled to get benefit of reservation and not the uplifted/advanced and affluent portion of castes of SCs/STs.”.Further, the petitioners have contended that Indra Sawhney’s case needs to be revisited to exclude creamy layer from SC/STs, since it has created a neo-exploiter group within the communities. It is the petitioners’ case that the observation in Indra Sawhney, which declares uplifted SC/STs as backward for all times, makes them “eligible to usurp the rights of reservation of actual backward persons of SCs and STs”..“The observation of this Hon’ble Court in Indra Sawhney has created a neo-exploiter group within SCs and STs. The benefit of reservation & other Govt. Schemes is being continuously usurped by 4-5% uplifted SCs and STs. This neo-exploiter group is endeavoring at all fronts, so that this bounty privilege of carrying backward birth mark for all times be not snatched away from them…..The non-application of concept of creamy layer in SCs and STs, the actually backward members of the SCs and STs are having a heart burning that uplifted/affluent and advanced portion of castes included in SCs and STs are taking away the benefits, which are actually designed for them…...Non-exclusion of creamy layer from SCs and STs is perpetuating the castism in the Country. For example, even after inter-caste marriage these SCs and STs do not wish to do away with their caste benefits.”.Interestingly, the petitioners have also claimed that one of the main causes of the Naxalite movement in India is the frustration among backward sections of SCs and STs..“A main cause of Naxalite Movement in India, is the frustration of among backward portion of SCs and STs, who suffered from depression that if benefit of reservation is not coming to them despite 70 years of Independence, than anarchism is the only way out. According to Petitioners Neo-Exploiter Group is responsible for the same.”.Based on the above, the petitioners have prayed for a direction to be issued to the Respondents to exclude the creamy layer from availing benefits meant for the SC/STs..They have also sought for “appropriate instructions and guidelines prescribing parameters and criteria for excluding creamy-layer from SCs and STs, in pari materia to OBC.”.When the matter came up for hearing, the Court directed that a copy of the petition be served on the Central Agency. It then ordered that the matter be listed after two weeks..Read the order below.